


The World's Not Falling Apart

by pommedeplume



Series: Fleur and Tonks: Sights and Sounds in the PNW [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community: femmefest, Cunnilingus, Explicit Consent, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Musicians, Open Relationships, Polyamory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 08:04:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14890703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pommedeplume/pseuds/pommedeplume
Summary: Semi-famous rock singer, Tonks, hasn’t seen her girlfriend, Fleur, in years and is leaving Los Angeles to return to Seattle with hopes to reconnect with Fleur. Meanwhile, Fleur is having struggles of her own and isn’t sure where her life is headed next.





	The World's Not Falling Apart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NachoDiablo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/gifts).



It’s a hot day. Too hot. But it’s always too hot in Los Angeles, Tonks thinks. The reporter takes her seat on the balcony and Tonks sits down. The reporter fiddles with her phone and sets it down on the small table between them.

“So, Miss Tonks--”

“Just Tonks, thanks.”

“Sorry. So, Tonks, how do you feel, having just finished your first solo tour of the US?”

Tonks smiles and looks out at the city. She feels sad but doesn’t want to show it.

“It feels very rewarding,” she lies.

The reporter gives Tonks a brief, curious look then continues: “What was it like bringing your son on the road with you?”

“Well, my mother was on the road with me too. She helped out. But I think Teddy enjoyed it. How many four year olds get to see the country in that way?” Tonks replies with a more genuine smile.

“Yes, that must’ve been very exciting for him. And you got to see a lot of the country for the first time too, I’d imagine,” the reporter says.

“I’ve seen more of it than you’d think. My old band, Orca Patrol, did some short tours, mostly of the west coast admittedly, and when I was younger I travelled with my parents a lot.”

“Ah, yes, speaking of your old band. Umm… Not to stir up controversy, but there was some critique from your older fans of having sold out. They claimed your new music sounded too overproduced and sanitized for a mass audience. How do you respond to that?” the reporter asks, looking guilty.

Tonks frowns.

“I don’t. Well, I mean, I haven’t. It was disappointing if I’m being honest. I worked very hard on this album. It has more of me in it that anything else I’ve done. It’s more polished and it did cost more than all of my… our old albums combined, but… I wasn’t being insincere, and I wrote _every_ song. Despite what some believe.”

“You recently split with your manager? What can you tell me about that?” the reporter asks.

Tonks shrugs and says, “Not much. Just some differing perspectives. It was amicable.”

The reporter smiles. She then digs deeper into Tonks’s history. Tonks has told the stories before. She grew up in Olympia, Washington. She was drawn to music at an early age and started performing on stage as a teenager. In her mid-twenties she formed Orca Patrol with some friends. There’s nothing that special about the story. No drama or ridiculous adventures.

She naturally asks why Orca Patrol disbanded. They always ask but there’s barely a story to tell. A couple of members moved away. Tonks relocated to Seattle and those who had remained in Olympia drifted out of contact until one day they got together and realized that the band was already over.

“So, I’m going to get a little more personal,” the reporter says and Tonks tries not to show her discomfort.

“OK,” Tonks replies.

“On your album there are a lot of love songs. But you’ve been reluctant to talk about your private life. Are you seeing anyone?” the reporter asks.

Tonks shakes her head.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Tonks says sadly.

She’s heard this bit before. The implication is that she’s been single and all the songs aren’t genuine. She understands why people think that. She’s kept her private life hidden. She’s talked about being single parent. Of course, the real truth is… she isn’t sure if she’s single. Back in Seattle she has a girlfriend… in theory anyhow. They haven’t been as close in recent years. They’ve both had children, Fleur with her husband, Bill, and Tonks with a sperm donor connected to her family.

Fleur got a big promotion and Tonks went to Los Angeles to work on her music and then she went on tour. Everything slips away so easily if you let it. And Tonks had let it. It’s her own fault and she knows it. Fleur had tried to stay in contact and Tonks knows she hadn’t given it all back. Now she is ready to go back to Seattle and isn’t sure if her girlfriend will still be waiting for her.

* * *

 

Fleur smiles when she gets the email from Tonks saying she is returning to Seattle. Things lately have been difficult and complicated. Everything is changing and she thinks it will be good to have something normal again.

Fleur looks up from her laptop on the dining table, over to the sofa where her daughter, Victoire, rests peacefully. Victoire recently turned two. It makes Fleur sad that her daughter barely knows Tonks. Oh, but there should be plenty of time for that, she thinks. She looks forward to seeing Teddy again. Yes. Having Tonks around will be good.

Fleur types in the URL for the old Orca Patrol website. She looks through photographs and misses those times. She doesn’t fault Tonks for wanting greater success. She has been climbing her own ladder as well. She wonders if Tonks’s success makes her more happy than Fleur’s success has made her.

Fleur, for all her bluntness, has always believed herself to be an optimist. But she has set high standards for herself and her life at times has left her disappointed. She tells herself that the world isn’t falling apart and she knows it’s true, even if lately it hasn’t felt true.

Fleur pulls her glasses off her nose and rubs her eyes. She’s been staring at the screen too long. She’s convinced all the time spent in front of computer screens is what made her need glasses in the first place. Bill said the glasses just make her look smart but when she asked what about her never looked smart in the first place, Bill just awkwardly smirked and walked away. He was good at that.

Fleur sighs and again tells herself that the world isn’t falling apart. She married Bill when she was only twenty-one. She is now twenty-eight, the age Bill was when they married. Fleur never felt the age difference was such a big deal. In many ways she was smarter and more mature than him right from the beginning. But looking back there was much about life that she still didn’t understand. She doesn’t think she was too young to get with Bill but she thinks perhaps they should have waited longer.

But would it have mattered? She had been in love with Bill and would have married him anyway. Though a guilty part of her wonders what would have happened if she had met Tonks first. Tonks: front-woman of the band Orca Patrol, performing at the Yeti Room with brightly colored hair and a performance that swept Fleur off her feet. She went from being her biggest fan to being her girlfriend very fast. Tonks revealed to Fleur her innermost desires and Fleur revealed her own, reveling in sharing such things together.

It was very convenient that she and Bill had already settled on being non-monogamous. Bill had his girlfriends and she had her girlfriend. She went on a few dates here and there and had the odd fling or two but Tonks was the only one she ever truly connected with. Then Orca Patrol split up and Tonks moved away. Bill started taking a lot of business trips to New York City, leaving Fleur often alone to balance her work at the bank and taking care of Victoire. Luckily, her best friend, Viktor, helped a lot with babysitting but she was starting to feel worn thin and lonely.

She has so much she wants to tell Tonks. So much she needs to explain. There’s a knock on the door to her apartment. Viktor is there which means it is time for her to go to work. She sighs and closes her laptop.

 

* * *

 

“Mom!” Teddy shouts as Tonks enters her home.

She smiles at her son and crouches down to scoop him up her in arms.

“I’ve missed you so much!” Tonks says, tears in her eyes.

She hasn’t been without Teddy for more than a couple of weeks but it has felt like months. Her mother, Andromeda, is standing and smiling in the background. Tonks releases Teddy and walks over to her mother, giving her a hug.

“How was your flight, dear?” her mother asks.

“It was fine. Help me with my bags?” Tonks says.

“Of course,” her mother replies, following her outside.

It’s a nice day in Seattle. They had officially entered the part of the year that was mostly free of rain. It’s funny that Tonks had missed the rain living in Los Angeles and now she is back in Seattle only for there to be more sun. But somehow a sunny day in Seattle always felt like it meant more, even now.

“Are you staying here tonight?” Tonks asks as they remove her luggage from her car.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to. I don’t have a job now that you aren’t on tour and my husband is dead. What else have I to do?” Andromeda replies.

Tonks flinches.

“I wish you wouldn’t talk about dad like that. Don’t be so flippant, mother,” Tonks scolds her.

“I’m sorry, dear. I don’t mean to… I loved your father. I still do. I just mean to say… I’m lonely. I’m not looking forward to going back to my home back in Olympia and being alone,” Andromeda admits.

Tonks gives her mother a sympathetic frown. Andromeda is now in her early fifties but she doesn’t look it. Her brown hair has faded somewhat and there are hints of silver running through it but she has lost none of the vivaciousness of her youth. She’s not a woman who is looking to retire early or fade away, even though she has a enough money in savings to do both if she wanted. She wants to be useful and productive. She wants her family and it kills Tonks that she would prefer some time alone.

“You can stay tonight but Fleur is coming by tomorrow. I would like some time alone with her to catch up. Maybe you and Teddy can stay in Olympia for a day or two.”

Tonks is loath to be parted from Teddy again but she can’t bear to send Andromeda away alone. Andromeda nods and they take the luggage back inside.

 

* * *

 

The bus ride from West Seattle to Queen Anne has always felt too long. This time it is worse than usual because Fleur hasn’t seen Tonks in so long. She wasn’t sure how to dress. Should she have dressed very pretty like it was a date or more demure so as not to seem presumptuous? She was normally so confident and Tonks mattered to her. Especially now, with the rest of the ground beneath her feeling so shaky.

After a great deal of debate she had settled on a look somewhere between ‘I’m going on a date’ and ‘I’m visiting my grandmother’. She also is wearing her glasses, but only because Tonks had gushed about how cute she looked with them on when she had sent her a selfie during her tour.

As Fleur walks from her bus stop over to Tonks’s home she feels a great deal of her confidence restoring, excitement making her almost tremble. Tonks is waiting on the front porch when Fleur arrives.

“Hey!” Tonks calls out and runs down to see Fleur.

They embrace tightly and everything feels all right and good with the world. Fleur doesn’t realize she’s crying until they pull away. She wipes at her eyes and sees Tonks doing the same.

“I have missed you,” Fleur says.

“I’ve missed you too. Come inside. I made tea,” Tonks smiles warmly.

“You look good,” Fleur says, removing her shoes just inside the door.

“Thanks. That Los Angeles sun did wonders for my complexion. The trainers the record label sent me to definitely got me in shape, though I kinda miss my belly. Gonna grow that one back out,” Tonks says, clutching her stomach with a laugh.

“You were beautiful before and you are still beautiful. It does not matter to me,” Fleur says.

Tonks grins, clearly blushing.

“My boobs are smaller too,” Tonks winks.

Fleur just giggles and Tonks wanders over to her kitchen, momentarily bringing the pot of tea and some cups over to the dining room table. Fleur realizes that she is a bit overdressed. Tonks is wearing a tee-shirt and blue jeans while Fleur is wearing a nice beige blouse and skirt combo. But that’s always the way it has been for them both. Fleur likes that Tonks is relaxed and cool in her personal life and saves her more exciting appearances for performing live. Tonks relishes performing on stage like no one else Fleur has ever known.

“So how’s it been going? Is work good? How are Bill and Victoire?” Tonks asks as she pours the tea.

“Victoire is good. She is already so smart. But she has some Weasley mischief in her eyes too. She is going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Fleur boasts then continues, “Work is… work. They pay me well but working for this bank makes me feel dirty. I do not like it. But I am nearly thirty. I have given so much to this career. I can’t start over.”

“I spent most of my twenties giving everything I had to Orca Patrol. I was thirty when we finally agreed it was over. It’s never too late for a new beginning,” Tonks assures.

“I hope so… Which brings me to… Bill,” Fleur frowns.

“Oh dear. What’s wrong?” Tonks asks, reaching over to place a hand on Fleur’s.

Fleur accepts the hand, holding it in her palm.

“It is a long story. I suppose you know some things. You know that he has been spending a lot more time in New York. It began before Victoire was born, though he was thankfully around for most of my pregnancy. But after she was born… Well, he has not been around so much,” Fleur explains.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Have you talked about--”

“No, there is more. Much more. I decided to confront him. Work has been hard and I was spending half of the time being a single parent. Viktor was spending more time with our daughter than Bill. Bill had said all along it was just business trips. It was not a complete lie. They were authorized by the bank but he had been the one volunteering. I said that if he is not happy in our marriage then we should talk about it. And then… He confessed everything.”

Fleur looked down at her tea. She squeezed Tonks’s hand then took a sip of the tea.

“Bill has been cheating on me,” Fleur reveals.

“But… you’re both poly? You can’t cheat!” Tonks says, looking bewildered.

“Do you not think so? You see Bill and I have always had certain agreements. We let each other know who our other partners are. If anything big happens that the other should know, we tell them. It has always worked… Until now. But no. Bill had a girlfriend in New York. A serious one. A _very_ serious one,” Fleur says sharply.

“Oh my,” Tonks says, sipping her tea.

“It was like… he had an entire life I didn’t know about. For years. He had become close to this woman’s children and her family! They were making plans for the future and… he never told me. He never even hinted at it. I even had _asked_ him if he was seeing anyone in New York before and he said _no_. The liar!” Fleur says, squeezing Tonks’s hand a little too hard.

“Ow,” Tonks says and Fleur lets go of her hand, saying, “Sorry.”

“It’s all right. Keep going,” Tonks insists.

“So, Bill told me all about their relationship. At this point they had several years of history… drama and passion… he was a part of her life! And I never knew,” Fleur says.

“Did she at least know about you?” Tonks asks.

Fleur nods and says, “Oh yes. Though he lied and said that I knew about her and was OK with it.”

“I can’t believe this. Why wouldn’t Bill just… say something?” Tonks asks.

“That is what I asked. I was very angry but I restrained myself from calling him a bastard and throwing him out of my house. No, I calmly asked him why he would not just tell me. I would not have minded. He has had serious girlfriends before. But he tells me it’s because she really mattered to him and that made him afraid. And then he cried. Bill never cries… but he cried. And… I felt bad for him. For a moment. Then I remembered you…”

“Oh, I come into this? How exciting,” Tonks says, drenched in irony.

“Only a little bit. I remembered how I felt about you. How I _feel_ about you,” Fleur says, Tonks turning red again as Fleur continues, “When I fell for you I told Bill everything. I did not _hide_ you like some secret. And so I told Bill that and he said his thing was different. I didn’t understand. Oh, oh, oh. I was furious then. I could have slapped him. I did not but I could have.”

“Good lord,” Tonks almost whispers.

“I asked him to explain how it was different. He could not do it. So I asked him what he wanted. What was our path forward? He said if I wanted a divorce he would not fight it. I laughed at that. Divorce? I do not want to divorce him! I love him! But I was so angry and hurt. Does he think if he is truly in love with someone else that I will suddenly say ‘Oh, no, when I meant poly I did not think you would fall in love!’ It is ridiculous!”

Tonks pours herself more tea. Fleur nods when she offers her more as well.

“So what are you going to do?” Tonks asks.

“We are… taking a bit of a break. I told him that I love him and do not want to divorce him. But I told him that he needs to be in his daughter’s life. She is both of our responsibility. At the same time, I do not want to take him away from this woman. So I told him we should take a break. Take some time to figure out what we both want from life. He is back in New York. Apparently she has been trying to convince him to move us all out there but Bill knows that I will not do that. He is going to try to convince her to relocate out here. Beyond that… it is up to them to decide what to do. But he must communicate with me and he cannot abandon his daughter.”

“Makes sense,” Tonks says.

“Sorry, I do not mean to complain. I have not seen you in so long,” Fleur says, reaching for Tonks’s hand again.

“Hey, I asked you. And I mean, I care about you. If you’re suffering I want to know,” Tonks says, squeezing her hand.

“Thank you. I do not know that I _am_ suffering. But things have been hard. I will not ask Bill to leave that woman, though,” Fleur says.

“What if he says he wants to stay with her?” Tonks asks.

Fleur frowns and shakes her head.

“I guess we get a divorce. Shared custody. Our daughter will have to fly back and forth across the country to see her parents. It is not what I want for her,” Fleur admits.

“What do you want? If you could pick any resolution to this situation, what would it be?” Tonks asks.

“I just want everyone to be happy and for our daughter to have her father in her life. I suppose I hope his girlfriend will move out here. I understand that this would not be an easy choice for her. But her children are still young. Bill and I could help her find her footing. I have never minded sharing. I know what it is like to have so much love in your heart to give. But… I must also accept that maybe that won’t be what she wants with her life. If she doesn’t… then they will have to choose. I do not like any of the other options if I am being honest.”

Tonks lifts Fleur’s hand to her mouth, pressing her lips against it. Fleur smiles, feeling herself blush.

“So, what about you? Staying in Seattle long?” Fleur asks, hopeful that she will say yes but trying not to look too hopeful.

“Actually, I really don’t want to go back to Los Angeles. I’m going to record my next album here. I’ve been writing some new stuff. Might have a few of the old Orca Patrol gang back to play on it,” Tonks says.

“Oh? That sounds wonderful! Oh, I’m so excited!” Fleur says honestly.

“Me too. Los Angeles was interesting and the tour was great but… I kind of just want to be home. My heart has felt sort of… unused. And everyone keeps saying how fake the first record was. But the truth was every song on it was about you,” Tonks says, then immediately looks as if she regrets it.

Fleur’s mouth hangs open.

“All of them?” Fleur asks, tears filling her eyes.

“Every single last one of them. Even the sexy ones,” she winks.

Fleur laughs, getting out of her chair and crouching to quickly kiss Tonks. She had forgot how good kissing Tonks was. It was divine. They part and Fleur lingers there, their noses nearly touching from how close they are. They both smile and kiss again.

After they parted again, Tonks asks, “Do you want to hear some of my new songs? It’s folky shit and I know you hate that sort of thing.”

“No! I would love to hear it. I love _everything_ you do,” Fleur admits.

Tonks smiles and takes her hand.

* * *

 

Tonks is nervous to play her new songs for Fleur. She isn’t sure why. When so many of her old fans had turned on her because of her solo album, Fleur had remained loyal. Even after all the distance and Tonks’s fears that Fleur felt abandoned, she was still loyal. Even as she sits on the back porch with her acoustic guitar, Fleur seated in front of her with rapt attention, Tonks struggles with her guilt. While Fleur’s husband was hiding secrets and keeping his distance, Tonks had also been keeping her distance from Fleur.

She supposes she and Fleur always knew they were less tethered. But Tonks doesn’t want to be fully untethered now. Maybe in the future they will drift apart again but for the moment she wants to bask in the sunlight of Fleur’s smile and her deep blue eyes, filling her with life as songs carry forth from her lips.

Fleur claps as Tonks finishes her second song.

“Very good. I must say you sound better than ever,” Fleur says.

“Voice training. And I guess the tour gave me a lot of practice. I also drink _a lot_ less wine, something I plan to remedy in the near future,” Tonks says with a wink, a gust of wind blowing her long, brown hair around.

“You haven’t said anything about my hair,” Tonks says, brushing it out of her eyes.

“I never knew it could get so long. It’s very pretty,” Fleur says.

“Thank you. I’m going to cut it short again and color it but it was kind of cool. Being on stage and feeling like a rock star with my long as fuck hair,” Tonks says as Fleur laughs.

“I’m sure you were very sexy,” Fleur winks.

“Oh, you have no idea. But I was always thinking about you,” Tonks admits.

“I’m very flattered. Actually, I have watched video of some performances online. It’s not like the old days when Orca Patrol put everything on YouTube,” Fleur says.

“No, it’s not,” Tonks says, strumming a chord.

“Still. Watching those videos helped me feel closer to you,” Fleur says.

“Fleur… I’m sorry. I know I’ve been distant…”

“No. You are fine. Honestly, many times I worried I was the one being distant. But you were so busy. I could not expect you on tour to drop everything to stay up all night talking to me! How silly would I be?” Fleur laughs.

Tonks smiles. Fleur is right, of course. She always is.

“I just… want you to know… I love you,” Tonks says.

“I know. I love you too. Now, play me another song,” Fleur requests.

“Sure thing,” Tonks says and plays one of her favorite new songs.

Hours pass and daylight slowly fades. As the sun sets, Tonks plays a Dar Williams song:

 

_I have watched the kids who make their scenes. I have met the riot grrls who print their zines._

_They write the word, they raise a thought. They say who they are, they try what they're not._

_Because life is such a changing art, life is such a changing art._

_The world's not falling apart, the world's not falling apart, because of me._

 

When she’s finished the song, they go back inside.

“I suppose you should get back to your kid,” Tonks says, though she doesn’t want Fleur to leave.

“No, I told Viktor I might be late. He will stay the night if he has to. He understands,” Fleur says.

“How is Viktor?” Tonks asks as they stand in the living room near the sofa.

“He is good. Still in that triad. Veronica is pregnant. He is the father,” Fleur says.

“Pass along my congratulations,” Tonks says.

“I will,” Fleur replies.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Tonks asks.

Fleur approaches with a grin and says, “I want to kiss you.”

“OK,” Tonks says and they kiss.

It only takes a moment for her to detect the intent behind the kiss, backed up by the way Fleur presses herself up against Tonks, her hand curving around her thigh to her ass. The kiss quickly turns heated, their lips gliding together, slow and passionate, Fleur making happy sounds. Fleur’s mouth moves to Tonks’s ear and she whispers, “I want you.”

They kiss again and Tonks guides Fleur to the sofa. Fleur sits down and Tonks kneels before her on the rug between Fleur’s spread legs. Tonks kisses Fleur as her hands gently grip her thighs through her skirt. Fleur’s hands pull at Tonks’s back, urging her closer, wanting and needing her.

Tonks thinks that it’s been over two years since they’ve been physically intimate. Fleur was pregnant the last time. Has it really been that long? She supposes it’s like riding a bike. The sense memory returns and it’s like you never left.

Tonks pulls back and lifts Fleur’s blouse over her head then Fleur quickly removes her bra. Tonks kisses down Fleur’s neck and kisses all around her small breasts, leaving slow sucks on her hard nipples. Fleur is breathing hard as Tonks kisses down her belly, pressing her face between her thighs, the skirt and her panties providing layers of separation.

Fleur lifts up and Tonks slides her skirt off then pulls her panties down. Fleur scoots her body forward, to give Tonks a good angle. Tonks grips her thighs and moves her mouth straight to her pussy, her tongue sliding through the slit, lapping at the dampness. Fleur moans and Tonks’s tongue curves to flick her clit, making Fleur shake.

Eating Fleur out has always reduced her to uttering things in French and this time was no exception. She squirms and strokes Tonks’s hair as Tonks’s tongue proves her mastery.

“Oh! Mon dieu! So close! Oh, yes!” Fleur moaned, whimpering and swearing as she came.

Tonks lifts up and kisses Fleur who seems very grateful. Fleur pulls back, gently gripping Tonks’s hair and says, “Oh, I want to ravage you. If I could just pause life and have you all to myself for a day I would show you all the things I’ve dreamed about doing with you. I have become even more creative than I used to be.”

“I believe you. There’ll be plenty of time for all that and more. For the moment I might settle for some reciprocity,” Tonks admits.

“Settle? How rude. You forget that I know how your body works,” Fleur says.

Tonks stands up and strips for Fleur. She always holds Fleur’s attention no matter how she is performing. Of course, the biggest smile always is for her breasts, which Fleur has never been shy about loving. Tonks sits down on the sofa and Fleur stands up.

Tonks bites her lip, spreads her legs and slides forward to Fleur’s face. Fleur kisses up her thigh but wastes little time reaching her destination. Tonks thinks she hears a growl as Fleur pushes her mouth against her sopping flesh.

“Oh yeah. Ooo. Damn, that feels good. Yeah, just like that,” Tonks says softly as Fleur laps at her clit.

Tonks wishes she was recording this. Oh, but they had so many private recordings, didn’t they? And they would make more. She can live here in the moment for now with this silvery haired Goddess bringing her to the threshold of ecstasy.

Tonks cries out as she comes, Fleur unmoving as she rides out the aftershocks. Fleur moves back up to Tonks’s head and they kiss. Fleur leans into Tonks’s ear and whispers, “You know I cannot leave without making you come again, right?”

“I won’t stop you,” Tonks winks.

Fleur moves back down, predictably getting sidetracked by Tonks’s ample bosom. Fleur treats them like she’s discovered a secret stash of candy, unable to keep her hands or mouth off of them. Eventually she returns to her pussy, licking and fingering her to another intense climax.

“Mmm, I do not want to go,” Fleur says, kissing Tonks again.

“Heh. You _should_ get back to your kid. We have plenty of time,” Tonks promises and they kiss.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks later, Bill shows up unexpectedly. He’s there when Fleur gets home from work, having allowed Viktor to go home to his pregnant girlfriend and their boyfriend, Tyler.

“Bill,” is all Fleur can bring herself to say.

She’s nervous though Bill doesn’t seem so nervous himself.

“Fleur. I thought it was time for an update,” Bill said.

“Where’s Victoire?” Fleur asks.

“She’s napping. Please, sit?” Bill asks.

Fleur nods and sits next to him on the sofa, though not too close, just in case.

Bill takes a breath then says, “So, Carol has decided to move out here. I… was honestly surprised. But I think her love for me… it extends to you and Victoire. I’ve been such a coward. I feel… ashamed.”

Fleur frowns. She wants to tell him that he _should_ feel ashamed but doesn’t have the heart.

“I am glad you have come to a decision. I am glad Victoire will have her father. I have some things to tell you too,” Fleur admits.

“Oh?” Bill says, finally looking nervous.

Fleur laughs and shakes her head.

“What? It is nothing terrible? First: I am quitting my job. I do not want to work for the bank anymore. Their business practices are unethical and deplorable. You know it, I know it. I will miss the money and between you and me, I was really good at that job. But it is time for me to move on,” Fleur says.

“Oh. Wow. Well… what are you going to do?” Bill says.

Fleur shrugs.

“Whatever I want. Maybe I will go back to college. I am sure someone has work for a woman as smart as me who knows how to manage people and manage money,” Fleur boasts.

“That’s for damn sure,” Bill grins.

“Anyhow… Tonks is back in town and she’s not planning on leaving. I guess until she has to go on tour again. But maybe I will go with her? I don’t know. But I want her in my life. What you feel for Carol? I feel that for Tonks too. I always have. I think maybe you think it is just some fun thing I do or just for sex. But I love her. She is very important to me,” Fleur says.

“I understand that. I’m sorry if I have ever made you feel like I was diminishing the importance of your relationship. It won’t happen again,” Bill says.

“Good. Give me a kiss,” Fleur says and Bill leans over into her lips.

Fleur makes a happy sound then says, “I’m taking Victoire to spend the weekend with Tonks, Teddy and Andromeda. You should have told me you were coming.”

Bill laughs and replies, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

 

* * *

 

Tonks watches as Fleur’s red-haired daughter runs around a hill in Gas Works Park, chasing after Teddy. Andromeda was keeping close by them both, seeming very pleased on this glorious sunny day.

Fleur is standing next to Tonks, their hands firmly clasped together. Fleur has been oddly quiet and thoughtful seeming today. Not in a brooding way but in a sort of wistful way, at least that’s how Tonks sees it.

“Carol is moving to Seattle,” she says finally.

Tonks turns and smiles at her.

“Congratulations!” Tonks brims.

“Thank you. I think I am most happy for Bill. He had much to lose. I suppose I did too but… I would survive. I always do. Speaking of which… I quit my job,” Fleur says.

“Your job? Wow. What are you going to do?” Tonks asks.

“Well… I have a proposal,” Fleur smirks.

“Honey, you are already married and honestly I don’t think marriage is for me,” Tonks laughs.

“No! No, no, no. Do not be silly. As I understand it, you have recently lost a manager. I would like to apply to take his place,” Fleur says.

“I didn’t even tell you about that… how did you know?” Tonks asks skeptically.

“I read an interview you did just before you moved back up here. I read all of your interviews. I always have,” Fleur smirks.

“Oh. Well… I guess you know a lot about the sorts of things I do because you were around when I had to do it all myself. I can’t really pay you as well as your old job. Not unless I sell a lot more records, babe,” Tonks says.

“That’s OK. I have savings. I want to do something I love for once. Something that makes me feel good. And besides, with me with you, you will soar higher than you ever have before and that is a promise!” Fleur declares.

Tonks smiles at her.

“I believe you,” she says and they kiss, beginning to walk over to their children who have both just tackled Andromeda.


End file.
